PETRONAS to turn around Malaysia Group III base oil plant in Q1

LONDON (ICIS)--Malaysia’s state oil firm PETRONAS will turn around its Group III base oil plant in Malacca, Malaysia, in early January for about a month, a company source in Europe said on Tuesday.

The turnaround, which will involve a catalyst change, will begin in the first few days of January 2013 and is scheduled to run until 5 February. The plant has a nameplate capacity of 300,000 tonnes/year.

The company is building stock ahead of the turnaround and its customers will not experience any supply interruptions, the source said.

The source added it was an ideal time for a turnaround, given the low levels of demand and weak prices currently seen in Europe and Asia Pacific.